Chapter Six
Oscar
I hadn’t expected Jonathan to suggest something like this. We had never been very close. I could see him approaching me from the bar now, with two glasses of whiskey in his hands.
Anybody who didn’t know us wouldn’t have been able to guess that we were brothers. He was at least a foot shorter than me, his blonde hair was thinning, and his eyes were gray rather than blue like mine. He was stockier, with a bulging belly and his thick fingers were all decorated with flamboyant rings.
“Here you go, little brother,” he said while placing a glass in front of me.
“Thank you, Jonathan. I’m glad you had some time to go out with me,” I said, clinking our glasses together as he sat down.
Jonathan was married now. His wife Louise usually kept to herself, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen her. It could have been at their wedding a year ago.
“Of course I had time to spend with you. We haven’t had a chance to catch up in so long,” he said, as he crossed his legs, or tried to. His belly kept getting in the way.
I had moved on. As much as Sandra’s unfaithfulness had hurt me, and as much as I had hated Jonathan at the time; I didn’t blame him anymore. I let bygones be bygones.
“So, what else is new?” he asked, fishing for things to talk about. I smiled at him, thinking about how much things had changed since we were younger.
Sandra and I were in high school together, and Jonathan had already started working for father. I was a lanky, freckled teenager then. Unsure of myself, lacking in self-confidence and living in the shadow of my father and elder brother, both of whom I thought the world of.
Jonathan was cool. Or at least that was what Sandra thought. He rode fast cars, smoked cigarettes, was learning to be a businessman and making his own money. Sandra caught his eye quickly. Young, outgoing, friendly and giving him the attention he wanted.
I was too madly in love with her to notice what was going on.
“Nothing much, other than trying to figure out a solution to bring us out of the dump,” I replied to his question and took a sip of my drink.
“No, with your personal life I mean. Work is work. Are you seeing anyone?” he asked and I chuckled.
“No. I’m not, Jonathan,” I replied, not surprised that he was trying to dig around for personal information.
“Good, because there’s somebody I’d like you to meet,” he said with a twinkle in his eye that I didn’t appreciate. Before I could say anything, I saw him wave to someone at the far corner of the bar. I followed his gaze and found a woman making her way towards us.
“Jonathan, what are you doing?” I turned to him, and while he kept his eye on the woman, he smiled.
“Just trying to set you up with my good friend Marcia. She’s lovely, you’ll like her,” he said just as she approached us.
I took a deep breath, shaking my head. I wasn’t in the mood for this at all.
“Hello, Jonathan,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.
“Good to see you, Marcia. Glad you could make it. This is my brother Oscar,” Jonathan introduced us and I stood up to offer my seat to her.
Marcia smiled at me, accepted the chair and sat down, while I took a different one between the two of them.
She was dressed impeccably and elegantly in a sequined cocktail dress, glimmering and shining. She sat with her long slender legs crossed and waved to a server.
“So, Oscar,” she said as she turned to me, “your brother has told me so much about you. You’ve only just returned from London, haven’t you?” Her voice was low and husky, and I felt myself stir.
I smiled at her and nodded. “I have, yes.”
“Back for business,” she said and laughed a little. I noticed how her beautiful blonde hair shone under the chandelier crystals of the bar. Her lips were small and painted a bright red. Her dress was provocative, clung to her body, and her breasts rose and fell with her each breath. Marcia was a beautiful and sexy woman, and she knew it.
“Marcia and I have worked on a number of projects together, and she was only recently telling me that she’s beginning to feel lonely. I told her, don’t you worry, my brother Oscar is coming back to town and he’ll know just what to do to cheer you up.” Jonathan was laughing as he spoke and quickly drained the glass of whiskey down his throat.
Marcia ordered a bottle of wine for herself and sat upright in her chair, looking at me curiously.
“Jonathan tells me you’re a bit of a party boy. You know how to paint the town red?” She spoke in that same sexy voice, leaning towards me a little. I laughed and exchanged looks with my brother.
“I’m trying to leave that life behind. Get a bit more serious,” I said and Marcia rolled her eyes.
“Then you’ll become just like Jonathan, no fun at all,” she said and ran her fingers through her long blonde locks.
Jonathan laughed and then suddenly stood up.
“I should be on my way then. The wife awaits,” he said and I stood up too, in surprise.
“You’re leaving? I thought you’d have time for a few more rounds,” I said as he clapped his hand on my back and laughed again.
“I’m a married man now, little brother. I’m not fun anymore, as Marcia pointed out,” he said and blew her a kiss.
“Consider this as an apology gift,” he whispered in my ear and then turned to leave.
I remained standing, watching him leave and then eventually sat back down.
“Your brother is a tease,” Marcia said as the server poured her a glass of wine. I tried to smile, even though I was feeling uncomfortable in her presence. I couldn’t quite establish what was wrong with me.
Marcia was beautiful and I knew what she wanted. And I’d never had a problem with situations like this before. So what was holding me back? The fact that Jonathan had set us up? That Jonathan believed this would atone him for his sin of sleeping with my girlfriend?
“So what is it that you do, Marcia?” I asked her and she threw back her head and laughed. It exposed her long neck and brought her cleavage to my notice. I could feel myself harden a little, but it was gone in a second. My warring emotions were suffocating me.
“Let's not talk shop, Oscar. Tell me about your life in London,” she said, leaning towards me casually.
I drank my whiskey quickly and called for two more. I couldn’t remember feeling this insecure and uncomfortable, not since my teenage years. I couldn’t believe that Jonathan was still capable of making me feel so small.
“Nothing to report really. It’s like any other major cosmopolitan city,” I said, knocking back another glass as quickly as possible. I couldn’t understand why I wanted to be drunk.
“Did you meet a lot of beautiful English girls?” she asked, touching my arm lightly. I flinched, clenched my jaw and smiled at her.
“None like you,” I said and Marcia laughed loudly.
“You’re a naughty boy. Just like your brother,” she said and I flinched again. I hated being compared to Jonathan. I didn’t take it as a compliment.
She had barely finished her first glass of wine, but I was already on my third finger of whiskey. It was starting to take effect, my head was swimming a little.
I ordered more.
“Jonathan told me you like a good time. He’s probably right. Look at you, knocking them back like a champion,” she said and gave my forearm a squeeze, feeling my biceps as she inched closer to me.
For a second when I looked at her, I thought she was Kayla. Kayla! The thought entered my brain, and I looked away quickly.
“What’s the matter?” I heard her ask and I pulled at my collar. It was getting hot in here.
“Nothing. Just looking around,” I said, growing a little annoyed by Marcia’s incessant talking. I wish we could just sit in silence for a bit and think.
“You know, if you think this place is too noisy, we could just go back to my place,” she said and I turned to look at her. Her lips were inviting, her voice was sexy as Hell and those legs were endlessly long. I didn’t have to struggle to imagine what she would look like naked.
“My place might be closer,” I said and she bit on her lip, tugging her lower lip with her teeth.
“You’re the boss,” she said huskily.
Boss. That reminded me of Kayla again. I had an image of her naked, standing at my bar, drinking a glass of whiskey. Could she be the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, or was all that whiskey starting to get to me? Surely there were more attractive women in the world. Marcia, for instance.
I stood up from my chair, draining the last glass of whiskey. I felt slightly unsteady on my feet. Marcia dragged herself out of the chair too and tugged at my arm.
I reached for my wallet, pulled out several notes and flung them on the table.
“Shall we proceed to your castle, then?” she said, leaning on my arm, and looking up at me with that sensual bright red smile.
“I’m going home, alone,” I said and watched as she pulled away from me, surprised.
“What? I thought we were only getting started,” she said, panic entering her voice.
“Look, Marcia, I don’t know what my brother told you, but I just want to go home and catch up on some sleep. I’ve been working long hours this week,” I said, trying to pull myself away from her grip but at the same time trying to be polite. She was holding on, though.
“I thought you were fun. Don’t be boring, Oscar,” she pleaded, trying to pull me back.
“I really have to go,” I said, jerking my arm away from her now. My head was swimming again. I wanted to feel Kayla’s skin under my fingertips. That is what I was craving, even in my drunken state.
Marcia scowled at me and picked up her purse in a huff.
“Your brother clearly thinks more highly of you than you deserve. You don’t even know how to treat a lady,” she snapped at me. I breathed in deeply.
“My brother thinks very low of me, in fact. He is the one who doesn’t know how to treat a lady, throwing you at me like this. Good night, Marcia,” I said and walked away from her, out of the bar.
I looked at my wristwatch, it was nearly midnight. I wanted to see Kayla, watch her undress in front of me. But it was too late, I thought. It would be unfair to expect her to come over at this hour. I knew I’d spend the whole night thinking about her, though.